A reviewed of Demon Card Enforce: A Deck-Building LitRPG (The Cerberus Cards Book 1) by John Stovall

So, I just finished the audio version of Demon Card Enforce: A Deck-Building LitRPG (The Cerberus Cards Book 1) by John Stovall.

The novel is about Ethan Wolfe who is a 20-year veteran mob enforcer. In this novel, every year or so the gods gift the world mortals with magic cards, dungeons and monsters. Everyone that receives ten magic cards is called a deckbearer. Now, the novel starts off in a night club. The interesting part about the audio book is that it includes other sounds. For example, in the night club scene, you could faintly hear club music in the background. While it does bring some ambience to the scene, I found it to be quite annoying and at first, I really wanted to give up on the novel. The other sound effect happens when he looks at his cards. This sound was a bit more annoying to me but thankfully, unlike most LitRPGs, Ethan Wolfe doesn’t check out his cards/status every chapter. 

Another thing that bugged me is one of the rules to the magic system. According to the book, cards won’t disappeared from the world unless the deckbearer kills themselves, dies in a dungeon or dies to a monster. This rule seems like real bad setup for a deckbearer. If it gets out that you have cards, what is stopping anyone from hitting you with their card, poisoning your food or some other form assassination? Isn’t it enough that you have to face off against monsters and other deckbearers? Now, it is possible that anyone you meet would be out to get you. How could annoying not end up a paranoid lunatic? I’m guessing the author was relying on that most people in general are decent human beings and wouldn’t try to kill a stranger for magic powers. 

 Now, the actual plot is interesting. I enjoyed all the drama between the rival mob families. There was shootouts, ambushes and tons of deck fighting. The action kept my quite entertained. According to description on Amazon, there will be people hunting Wolfe that he never suspected. In the novel, it is completely true. Apparently, Ethan with his vast experience never saw/figure out the actual villain until the climax of the book. However, it was completely clear to me at beginning of the novel. I wonder if that was the author intension to have the reader realize before the main character. Or was it really not clear to Ethan? 

 Overall, the story was enjoyable and a little on the shorter sides for my audio books (only 11 hours and 36 minutes). I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good LitRPG novel.

My next read/listen is going to be Power: Wormhole Mana, Book 1 by Tom Larcombe.